Saturday, August 30, 2014

Fwd: Running on Renewable Energy - Pennenergy




Running on Renewable Energy

August 27, 2014
By Evdoxia Tsakiridou - Siemens, Pictures of the Future, siemens.com/pof

A research project funded by Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment shows that if renewable energy sources were networked with storage systems and standby power plant, they could secure the country's power supply in the future. How much that would cost is another story.

A research project funded by Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment shows that if renewable energy sources were networked with storage systems and standby power plant, they could secure the country's power supply in the future. How much that would cost is another story.

February 1, 2050, is a good day for German electricity consumers. The breeze off the north coast is blowing so strongly that offshore wind farms and the wind turbines on land are running non-stop. Since it's a sunny day, photovoltaic modules, which are mostly located in the south, are also working at peak capacity. On monitors in a central control room, engineers can see from a diagram that, in total, an average of 80 gigawatts (GW) of renewable electricity is being generated, with a midday peak that is as high as 120 GW.

In this scenario, renewable electricity produces enough energy to supply industry, trade, commerce, and households throughout Germany with power derived exclusively from wind and sunlight. The largest consumers are Berlin, Hamburg, and the municipalities in the Ruhr district. But thanks to newtransmission lines, densely populated areas such as these have no problem. If at some point there isn't enough wind or the sun isn't out, this scenario includes standby power plants that operate on methane and biogas systems — but they certainly aren't needed today. Staff members in the control room decide that this is an ideal day for replenishing storage systems across the country with excess electricity and using power-to-gassystems to produce methane gas that can be fed into the natural gas lines or turned into electricity again. Can an infrastructure based almost completely on renewable energy provide grid stability and dependability in the same way that fossil-fuel plantsdo today as demand rises and falls? In other words, are technical solutions up to the task of balancing natural fluctuations in the wind and the sun?

In a joint project called "Combined Power Plant," scientists addressed these questions, and came up with an answer. "It is possible to provide balancing power using 100 percent renewable sources. The crucial factor is a power control system for decentralized plants that is active, intelligent, and accurate to the nearest second," say Siemens researchers Dr. Philipp Wolfrum and Dr. Florian Steinke. That was the finding that emerged from simulations conducted by Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) and its partners from the scientific and business communities.

A Lot of Wind and Sun. In principle, say control system engineers, the renewable energy plants of 2050 really could maintain stable frequency and voltage in the German power grid, assure reliable service, and also produce enough load-balancing energy to always provide precisely the electrical output that is needed at any given time. In their project, they assumed that wind energy would account for the lion's share — in this case 60 percent — of power production. Approximately a fifth would come from photovoltaic systems, and ten percent would come from bioenergy. Hydropower and geothermal energy would account for the remaining ten percent.

  Can an entire country run on renewable energy while keeping its grid stable? Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute think it's possible.     Can an entire country run on renewable energy while keeping its grid stable? Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute think it's possible.

The model of this energy supply system was based on the assumption that annual power demand would be of approximately the same as it is today, that is, about 600 terawatt-hours (TWh). The model included additional consumers such as electric cars and new storage technologies, and it also took into account the increases in energy efficiency that are expected by the German federal government, as well as optimizations of industrial systems and processes and possibilities for demand management.

The model also assumed that the Network Development Plan of the German federal government (for the year 2032) will be implemented, so that, for example, future offshore wind farms will be connected to the grid, and the high-voltage direct current lines needed to transport the resulting electricity across large distances will be built — mainly from the north to the south of the country.

On the basis of weather and electricity demand data from 2007, the researchers estimated the power generation and demand of the whole country for every hour of a year, with a spatial resolution of 100 meters by 100 meters. Experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES) conducted extensive analyses of locations, including the possibility of local generation, to identify the spatial distribution of new wind and photovoltaic plants. Load flows in the grid result from renewable energies fed into it, electricity demand, including load management, and the use of power plants and storage systems.

But that by itself is not enough to demonstrate that a power supply is reliable and secure. These days, grid operators have to guarantee what are called "ancillary services." In addition to maintaining stable frequency and voltage, these include congestion management and, in the event of an outage, the rapid restoration of supply. The resulting virtual combined power plant must show that it can provide these services at all times, that it balances supply and demand, and that it can keep the frequency at a steady 50 Hertz, the prevailing value in Europe. This is essential, because deviations can lead to the collapse of electrical networks.

Using simulations, the project's partners were able to determine production peaks, surpluses and deficits, and subject the system to extreme situations, such as the failure of individual lines. The results indicate that voltage and frequency stability, congestion management, and service reliability would be achievable in the envisioned future system.

However, to meet these objectives, some of the project's general technical conditions would have to be adjusted. For example, in the future, inverter-based generators at photovoltaic plants and wind power plants could provide load-balancing power more quickly than is currently demanded by today's systems. This would provide additional stability for the grid and thus compensate for the inevitable reductions in power generation that occur as wind speeds moderate or drop to zero.

But the project's partners didn't limit their studies to simulations — they also examined feasibility issues in a subsequent field trial. For this experiment, they connected four biogas, 36 wind, and 66 photovoltaic plants across Germany. These plants, with a total capacity of approximately 80 megawatts, were managed from a control center in Kassel. In this renewables-based combination power plant, the partners tested the approaches they had come up with and demonstrated that renewable energy plants can be managed as a power pool to meet the technical requirements for supplying load-balancing power.

"Thanks to their modern inverters and converters, solar and wind power plants allow even more freedom of action than synchronous generators connected directly to the grid," say researchers Wolfrum and Steinke. "They allow voltage, phase position, and frequency to be adjusted very effectively. All in all, we were able to demonstrate that system stability was preserved, and how it was preserved." . But the researchers added one proviso: The plan's envisaged paradigm shift in the supply of electric power can succeed only through a massive expansion of storage technologies. This is the only way to offset seasonal fluctuations in wind and photovoltaic output, they said.

Many Storage Units Needed. In view of this, Siemens scientists therefore also used simulations to calculate how to optimize the type, spatial distribution, and use of storage units and flexible generators in the context of their long-term planning. The constraint for these optimizations stipulated that all loads must be perfectly covered at every instant. Today, utility companies use pumped storage reservoirs as buffers. Their efficiency rate is a very high 80 percent, but capacity is nowhere near adequate for the storage of large quantities of energy. Today's pumped storage power plants could supply Germany with energy for barely half an hour — and there aren't enough suitable locations to build more.

As a result, power-to-gas plants will play a crucial role. These plants would use excess renewable electricity to decompose water into its constituents (hydrogen and oxygen) in the chemical process known as electrolysis. Carbon dioxide (CO2) would then be added to produce methane gas. The methane would then power gas and steam turbine power plants directly — and be converted back into electricity with an efficiency rate of more than 60 percent. Methane can replace natural gas, and it can be fed into the public gas grid. The study pointed out that the German natural gas grid can easily handle the storage needs of renewable energy surpluses. Wind and solar power stations would be supplemented by biomass plants in addition to gas-fired power plants. Both can respond quickly and flexibly and can thus be used to balance out fluctuations in power generation. However, researchers have calculated that these power plants must be numerous enough to collectively be capable of reaching approximately the maximum load in Germany. Even if existing gas-fired power plants could be used for this purpose, this would still require the construction of plants capable of generating tens of additional gigawatts, which would be a problematic investment if the plants were needed only a few hundred hours per year.

"In the winter, for example, when there is no wind and the sky is overcast, they would jump in as a reserve and guarantee a supply of power for everyone in Germany," says Wolfrum. "Another challenge lies in storage management. If I know when it will be cloudy or calm, I can fill the various types of storage systems a few days in advance in the right order and discharge them in the optimal way when power is needed."

The project's partners have also calculated what a national renewable energy system would need in terms of added grid construction. Their data show that the grid would have to be expanded only a modest amount beyond the current Network Development Plan of the German federal government. In view of their results, they are convinced that Germany really could be supplied with power from 100 percent renewable sources if the renewable power plants, storage systems, and biogas plants were intelligently integrated.

Monitor, Regulate, Optimize. A prerequisite for this is a powerful communication infrastructure that would allow decentralized renewable energy plants to be monitored and managed in real time. Although such a system would become more complex as a result of this, Steinke says it would be manageable "if you perfect the forecasting and the calculations regarding plant usage. The secret of success is the right mix of renewable plants and the application of optimization techniques and management methods to their operation."

In sum, the crucial characteristic of this grand plan isn't renewable energies. What would have to change is mainly the structure and organization of power generation and distribution. "The shift to a sustainable energy supply is possible if the grid with all its components is expanded, a power storage system is built, and the general framework of the balancing power market is adjusted. That's because right now energy sources that fluctuate can't take part. Since you can only predict a short time in advance when renewable power will be fed into the grid, correspondingly shorter bid periods and lead times will be needed," say Wolfrum and Steinke.

Although it may be difficult to examine the individual components of a 100 percent scenario like this one from a business management point of view, the cost to the economy as a whole appears clear to Professor Hoffmann, head of the Fraunhofer Institute's IWES in Kassel. "We believe the current costs of fossil primary energy in Germany — €83 billion per year for oil, coal, and gas — can be lowered to practically zero over a period of 40 years," he says. "According to our calculations, the break-even point will be reached in 15 to 20 years — the point at which the costs for the expansion of renewable energies and the purchase costs for fossil energy will, when taken together, be less than today's primary energy costs."

Moreover, the analyses of IWES researchers comprise not only the electricity sector but also heating and transportation. The experts also see potential in electric mobility, passenger transport, and heavy goods traffic, such as trolley trucks. According to their ideas, heat pumps should cover about 75 percent of the requirement in the low-temperature range, and increasing use should be made of power-to-heat technology in the industrial sector. Furthermore, they say, power demand could be reduced by 25 percent with efficiency measures, including building insulation and the installation of better heating systems.

This article is republished by permission from Siemens, Pictures of the Future, siemens.com/pof.‎
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Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
+1 646.402.5076
www.arcstarenergy.com

Fwd: Canadian Solar completes sale of Good Light solar power plant - Pennenergy




Off-grid telecoms creating opportunities for hybrid systems

August 22, 2014
By David Appleyard
Contributing Editor

New analysis of the global renewable/diesel genset hybrid power systems market finds that the sector earned revenues of $358.4 million in 2013 and is estimated to reach $552.2 million in 2018 at a compound annual growth rate of 9%.

According to a report from Frost & Sullivan, with a lack of grid connectivity in distant and rural areas – especially in developing countries – prompting end users to retrofit or replace ubiquitous diesel generator sets with cost-effective and efficient hybridpower systems. Latin America and Africa are expected to witness the fastest growth.

However, lack of clarity on subsidies and other incentives provided for hybrid power systems discourages some end users, the research concludes. Proper legislation governing installation of hybrid power systems is also reducing market potential. For instance, solar and wind power subsidies are extended to hybrid power systems but do not have legislative supporting literature with specific technical requirements.

In addition, the relatively higher capital costs of hybrid power systems compared to diesel generator sets, and increased costs incurred while transporting these solutions to far-flung areas can deter uptake.

Nevertheless, cost may become less of a concern among customers with the gradual reduction in the prices of solar modules and wind turbines, which are the dominant renewable energy sources for hybrids. The cost of installation and equipment required for the use of hybrid power systems is decreasing as well.

'Industrial penetration into off-grid remote areas is boosting power requirements, driving the installation of hybrid power systems. Telecom sector penetration is particularly strong and will thus contribute most to global market revenues,' said Frost & Sullivan energy & environmental research analyst Ashay Abbhi. He added:  'Capital costs will fall further once clear legislations regarding subsidies provided for hybrid power systems are defined by governments. The standardization of modular hybrid power systems will also lower capital costs substantially and power use of these solutions globally.'


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ArcStar Energy
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Thursday, August 28, 2014

FW: US Renewable Electrical Generation Hits 14.3 Percent

 

 

US Renewable Electrical Generation Hits 14.3 Percent

In the first half of 2014 US wind energy hit 5 percent, while solar more than doubled.

 According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s latest "Electric Power Monthly" report, with data for the first six months of 2014, renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) provided 14.3 percent of net U.S. electrical generation. Conventional hydropower accounted for 7.0 percent, while non-hydro renewables provided an even larger share at 7.3 percent.

Overall, electrical generation from non-hydro renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, wind) expanded by 10.4 percent compared to the first half of 2013, according to the EIA

Wind power alone increased by 9.0 percent compared to last year and accounted for 5.0 percent of the nation's electrical generation during the first six months of 2014, while solar-generated electricity more than doubled (growing by 115.7 percent). Biomass also grew by 4.0 percent. However, geothermal power dipped by 1.5 percent and conventional hydropower declined by 4.2 percent.

Even with the lower output from hydropower and geothermal, net U.S. electrical generation from all renewable sources combined grew by 2.73 percent. By comparison, net electrical generation from all energy sources — renewables, fossil fuels and nuclear power — grew by 2.59 percent.

Not long ago, EIA was forecasting that renewables would not reach 14 percent of U.S. electrical generation until the year 2040. And even the current 14.3 percent figure undoubtedly understates the real contribution from renewables as EIA's data does not fully reflect distributed and off-grid generation.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Record-breaking offshore wind deal helps drive up clean energy investment in Q2 | Bloomberg New Energy Finance

http://about.bnef.com/press-releases/record-breaking-offshore-wind-deal-helps-drive-clean-energy-investment-q2/

Monty Bannerman
ArcStar Energy
+1 646-402-5076

BBC News: Chile launches its biggest wind farm

Chile launches its biggest wind farm

Chile inaugurates its biggest wind farm in an attempt to tap its potential for renewable energy and find alternatives for fossil fuels.

Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-28950685


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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

BBC News: Global coal 'binge' missed in data

Global coal 'binge' missed in data

The climate impacts of the world's fossil-fuelled power plants are being underestimated because of poor accounting, say researchers.

Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28942403


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Fwd: Two Trends Make Solar Industry Smile

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Rebecca Van Nichols" <rvan@tnag.net>
Date: Aug 26, 2014 4:48 PM
Subject: Two Trends Make Solar Industry Smile
To: <mbannerman@arcstarenergy.com>
Cc:



08/22/2014 04:36 PM     print story email story   ShareThis

Two Trends Make Solar Industry Smile

SustainableBusiness.com News

by Rona Fried

Two trends are making the solar industry smile:

For the first time since 2006, solar panels could be in short supply as the market finally turns to feast from famine for manufacturers.

And by 2017, 26 US states could have rooftop solar that's as cheap as local electricity rates - without counting state incentives, says Union of Concerned Scientists.

Think about it: in 2006, 30,000 US homes had rooftop solar and that's grown to 400,000 in 2013. 

And in 2006, manufacturers couldn't meet demand for only 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels. Now there's about 59 GW of world solar production capacity that can just about supply 52 GW of demand this year and 61 GW expected in 2015, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. 

It's the boon solar equipment manufacturers have been waiting for - manufacturers could spend $10 billion in 2017, says Solarbuzz.

And this is the tip of the iceberg - by 2018, Solarbuzz projects world demand could reach 100 GW a year! 

Costs for typical rooftop solar systems are down by half since 2007. If the trend continues, as expected, close to 4 million homes could run on solar by 2020, according to the US Department of Energy.

States Driving Solar Boom

10 states drove the US solar boom in 2013 with 87% of installations, according to Environment America's report,"Lighting the Way." This includes utility-scale and rooftop solar:

Solar States 2013

See last year's list of leading states.

Other rising stars include Vermont and Georgia, which have large or fast-growing solar markets and strong new solar policies or programs implemented since mid-2013.

Solar Big Projects

Take a look at the states and you'll notice some aren't the sunniest, but they have the most installed solar because of supportive government policies. Unfortunately, that's changed this year in Arizona.

All have Renewable Portfolio Standards (8 with specific solar targets) and 9 have strong net metering policies, where people get paid at full retail rates for selling excess solar back to the grid. 9 make it easy to connect solar systems to the grid and 9 foster creative financing options, such as solar leasing.

Sunny southeastern states are almost absent from the list because their policies are designed to make it very hard to install solar, because utilities perceive it as a threat. They ban or severely restrict solar leasing arrangements, for example. 

There's a hint of progress in some states, including Florida, but utility FPL recently got approval to charge customers $9 per month to fund construction of its solar projects. Pretty amazing, because FPL has long been one of the top wind developers in the US - from its own coffers. And its joined with other state utilities to ask regulators to slash energy efficiency incentives.

Read our article, 10 Significant State Policies for Distributed Solar Energy.

Leading Cities

Five of the top 20 US cities for solar are, not surprisingly, in California (in this order): Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco and Sacramento, according to Environment America's report, "Shining Cities: At the Forefront of America's Solar Energy Revolution."  

The top 20 cities contain 7% of US solar, the amount the entire country had just six years ago, says Environment America. As of 2013, the top 10 have:

Los Angeles - 132 MW
San Diego - 107
Phoenix - 96
San Jose - 94
Honolulu - 91
San Antonio - 84
Indianapolis - 56
New York - 33
San Francisco - 26
Denver - 25

It's a shame the solar industry now has to fight for its growth against a threatened utility industry and fossil fuel industry

Read our article, Eye-Opening Map of Front Groups Attacking Renewable Energy.

Read the report:

Website:www.environmentohio.org/sites/environment/files/reports/OH_shining_cities_scrn.pdf



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Fwd: One More Time: US & World CAN Swiftly Convert to 100% Renewable Energy

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Rebecca Van Nichols" <rvan@tnag.net>
Date: Aug 26, 2014 4:40 PM
Subject: One More Time: US & World CAN Swiftly Convert to 100% Renewable Energy
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08/13/2014 05:17 PM     print story email story   ShareThis

One More Time: US & World CAN Swiftly Convert to 100% Renewable Energy

SustainableBusiness.com News

by Rona Fried

Yet more research shows how the US can achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050, this time from Stanford University. 

The Solutions Project has developed models for every state and the US as a whole.

Take California

For California, 55.5% of all energy would come from solar, 35% from wind and the rest from hydroelectric, geothermal, tidal and wave energy.  

For 100% electricity, here what would be needed: 

  • 25,000 onshore 5-megawatt (MW) wind turbines
  • 1200, 100 MW concentrating solar plants
  • 15 million, 5-kilowatt residential solar PV rooftop systems
  • 72, 100 MW geothermal plants
  • 5000, 0.75 MW wave devices
  • 3400 1 MW tidal turbines

For heating, fossil fuels would be replaced by electric/geothermal powered heat pumps and heat exchangers; solar-powered hot water; and high temperature industrial processes would run on electricity and hydrogen combustion. Vehicles would be either electric or fuel cell propelled. 

This infrastructure would consume 0.9% of California's land,  mostly for solar plants.

Published in the Energy, it shows that converting California's energy infrastructure is both technically and economically feasible and that it would result in a sustainable, inexpensive and reliable energy supply ... while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and saving billions of dollars in pollution-related health costs.

It would "eliminate air pollution mortality and global warming emissions from California, stabilize prices and create jobs - there is little downside," says lead author Mark Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Director of Stanford's Atmosphere/Energy Program.

While there's an initial cost for upfront infrastructure investments (which are rapidly dropping), they are more than repaid by eliminating fuel costs. Energy demand would decline by about 44% and energy prices would stabilize.

After job losses in fossil fuel and nuclear-related industries are accounted for, there would still be a net gain of 220,000 jobs in California. 

And it would save over $100 billion a year on health care costs - almost 5% of California's 2012 gross domestic product - while cutting $48 billion a year in damage from extreme weather.

Mark Jacobson is a prolific researcher. Over the past five years, his studies show:

All US States

Each report Jacobson produces drills down to every detail - exactly how many devices are needed; their footprint and spacing area; costs; numbers of jobs, air pollution and climate benefits; and policies necessary for each state.

Renewable Energy 50 States

For the US as a whole, all new energy sources could be renewable by 2020, about 80-85% of existing energy replaced by 2030, and 100% replaced by 2050.

Doing this would create about 5 million construction jobs and 2.4 million operations jobs for energy facilities alone, while eliminating roughly 62,000 premature deaths a year and avoiding $510 billion a year in heath care costs. 

He doesn't stop with the US, of course. Renewable energy can also power the world, with wind providing half the energy by 2030, solar providing 40%, and geothermal and marine energy, 10%.

Why does he cross nuclear, biomass, natural gas and coal with  carbon capture and storage, off the list?

"If we have a limited amount of money to spend, we want to spend it on the best technologies, not ones that are mediocre," he said at his presentation for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Numerous studies show the US and the world can transition completely to renewable energy by 2050: Civil Society InstituteGreenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council; and the US National Renewable Energy Lab
 

Here's the plan for all 50 states and check out The Solutions Project, where you can click on each state:

Website: http://thesolutionsproject.org/


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Major FERC ruling: Renewable Energy Just Got Easier to Tie to the Grid

Monday, August 25, 2014

Fwd: Impending cut in investment tax credit likely to have less impact if the IRS treats solar PV like wind

This one is important. And it will come up in the test.



Impending cut in investment tax credit likely to have less impact if the IRS treats solar PV like wind

Thu, 08/21/2014 - 11:20am
DisplaySearch

In early August 2014, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a notice related to the production tax credit (PTC) for certain types of non-solar renewable energy facilities. In essence, this notice confirmed previous rulings that projects under construction, and meeting a minimum percentage of total project cost, could claim tax credits from the year in which the construction started, rather than the year in which the construction was completed. This means that projects that began construction in 2013 could claim that year's tax credits, even if completed in 2015.

While not specifically relating to the solar PV industry, this ruling is important as it gives some guidelines as to how the IRS may treat solar PV projects attempting to qualify for the investment tax credit (ITC, not to be confused with the International Trade Commission, which plays a role in U.S. antidumping cases), which is set to decline from 30% to 10% on 1 January 2017. If the IRS issues a similar ruling for the ITC, this would mean projects that begin construction in late 2016 could still claim the full 30% ITC, even if the project was completed one year later.

This type of ruling would provide a small buffer for the solar PV industry, as project developers continue to push installations forward in advance of the ITC degression. In anticipation of this type of announcement, NPD Solarbuzz's baseline demand forecasts in the North America PV Markets Quarterlyreport indicate annual PV demand in the US of over 10 GW in both 2016 and 2017.

However, it should be noted that the IRS has not yet specifically addressed the solar ITC issue and it is likely that a ruling will not be forthcoming until early 2015 at the earliest. Furthermore, there are efforts underway in Congress to change the ITC. Some of these changes would be to the benefit of the solar PV industry, such as an ITC extension, or a multi-year step-down degression; other changes may be to the detriment of the industry, such as an early degression or a full-scale policy cancellation.

Currently, solar industry players are focused on progressing as best as possible under the current environment. Seeking a continued cost decline path and a stable policy and regulatory system is what most in the industry are hoping for. However, only by focusing on making solar PV more competitive – both in component costs and installation costs – will the PV industry continue to grow.


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Thursday, August 21, 2014

BBC News: US bank in record $16.7bn settlement

US bank in record $16.7bn settlement

Bank of America agrees to pay a record $16.7bn (£10bn) to US authorities for selling toxic mortgage loans that helped trigger the financial crisis.

Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28880307


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Fwd: Sol Systems Closes First Half of $100M Q3 Investment in North Carolina Solar

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From: "Rebecca Van Nichols" <rvan@tnag.net>
Date: Aug 21, 2014 10:49 AM
Subject: Sol Systems Closes First Half of $100M Q3 Investment in North Carolina Solar
To: <mbannerman@arcstarenergy.com>
Cc:



Sol Systems Closes First Half of $100M Q3 Investment in North Carolina Solar

Three New Utility-Scale Solar Farms Add 20 MW to NC's Solar Surge

Sara Rafalson, Sol Systems 
August 19, 2014

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Chapel Hill, NC Three new North Carolina utility-scale solar farms have begun producing power, racking up another 18.2 MW, equal to taking about 2,400 passenger vehicles off the road for the year. A significant portion of the investment responsible for the projects was managed by Washington, D.C.–based solar investment and financing firm, Sol Systems.

"Tax structured investments have been critical to driving capital into the solar asset class," commented Yuri Horwitz, CEO of Sol Systems. "North Carolina is an especially attractive market, and we will deploy tax equity into another 18 to 20 MW before the end of the year," he added.

"Tax structured investments have been critical to driving capital into the solar asset class," commented Yuri Horwitz, CEO of Sol Systems.  "North Carolina is an especially attractive market, and we will deploy tax equity into another 18 to 20 MW before the end of the year," he added.

Projects of this size are highly complex and require capital and expertise from multiple sources. Sol Systems managed the investment on behalf of an insurance client as part of the firm's tax equity initiative to produce secure, sustainable solar investments for banks, insurance companies, utilities, and Fortune 100 clients. Strata Solar developed the project opportunities, and National Cooperative Bank served as the lender in the transactions. 

"Strata Solar continues to lead the North Carolina market in solar deployment," said David Scoglio, Strata Solar CFO. "We have been fortunate to work with several strong partners in the tax aggregate space to help us continue to grow the solar footprint across the state."

"National Cooperative Bank has a strong commitment to the solar industry, and we look forward to working with Strata Solar and Sol Systems on future transactions," said Matthew Wright, Senior Vice President, National Cooperative Bank.

This is the first half of a the investment that the partners will channel into the North Carolina solar market, which now ranks fourth in the country having installed 592 MW of solar electric capacity according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

The three new arrays will displace about 16,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year, about the same as providing electricity for 2,300 homes for one year.  The farms, located in Laurinburg, Clarkton, and Spring Hope, are home to 60,436 solar panels and are projected to produce 30 million kilowatt hours annually.

About Sol Systems

Sol Systems is a renewable energy finance firm that provides secure, sustainable investment opportunities to investor clients, and sophisticated project financing solutions to developers.  Founded in 2008, Sol Systems focuses on meeting the industry's most critical solar financing needs, including tax structured investments, capital placement, debt financing, and SREC portfolio management. To date, the company has facilitated financing for thousands of distributed generation solar projects and hundreds of millions in investment on behalf of Fortune 100 corporations, utilities, banks, family offices, and individuals. For more information, please visit www.solsystemscompany.com.
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